There are two ways to look at it, and both of them have merit, it just depends on how you feel personally.
Way #1: Hold off on anything truly ground-breaking and intensive until you have a sizable following, because the potential for payout vs. time invested are separated by a sizable gulf.
Way #2: Hit them with your best shot right off the bat. Introduce Yourself posts tend to get a lot of activity at the start, so the best way to capitalize on that is to deliver something rock-solid that will be seen by a huge number of people, a percentage of whom will hopefully follow and start paying dividends immediately.
Which way is best? Whichever one you want. For me, I'd rather see great content up front because that shows potential followers you are serious about the platform. I don't follow people who do a single introduction post then follow it up with 4-5 posts with 1 picture and two sentences of text.
That said, it's also disheartening when you pour your heart into a project and earn seventeen cents the week after because no one saw it, so just do what feels right to you with the understanding that anything you earn here is more than you had to begin with, and way more than you would have made posting it to your personal blog or other social media sites. :)
Thanks for the reply. That makes a lot of sense. I know I started with some bad posts, but I am working to correct that moving forward. It helps to just take a step back and remember what I am actually here for. It's easy to fall into the trap of seeing the whales and wanting to chase windmills.
I disagree with @modernzorker on one point, bringing less than your best at any point is a poor plan. It won't build a strong audience, add to your reputation, or draw readers, comments and upvotes.
I composed that reply very quickly, and looking back, I see I didn't communicate the idea in my head very successfully. Allow me to try again. :)
Obviously we should always be looking to contribute the best we can, but when starting out, nothing is more depressing than to pour four or five hours' worth of work into composing a post about something only to have it top out at $1.50.
Maybe 'start small and work up' is a better way of looking at it, or don't feel like everything that you post has to be the result of a full day's effort. It's impossible to predict what will 'hit', so my idea was more to increase the level of energy and effort put into your posts as you build a following and a reputation. Churning out crap isn't going to help anyone. :)
But your best doesn't always have to involve hours and hours of prep and composition either. :)
My apologies for not being more clear in my original comment, @markrmorrisjr. You are correct on this. :)
Small, tight pieces are a great way to start. Posts of a few hundred words often earn huge payouts.
I remember the very first group that I joined here in Steemit one of their rules is for all posts made by members it should have the name of the group which would act as a sort of advertisement. 2nd all posts has signatures thanking a particular whale.3rd and most ridiculous for me is using the name of the whale as an actual tab.
Well keeping to my namesake I did not follow their rules and eventually left.
I still see some of their posts and they have to a certain degree achieved some success but I achieved mine through my own hard work. I did not beg for upvotes, I got curated because of the quality of my work and I can stand tall and know I am did my best.
Yes it is easy to fall the trap of wanting to get a whales attention but do you want to be reliant on one person who will hold your success or failure.
Yeah there has been a lot of people who became successful after getting mentorship and support from a whale but looking at their work it is because they are unique and contribute something to the community.
They are bound to be successful.
Thanks for contributing to the conversation here. But, in my opinion, either bring your best stuff now, tomorrow and yesterday, or stay home. Consistently posting quality content is the way to bigger payouts, and I've had my share. break good stuff into multiple posts. Develop series, you'll pick up more readers and they'll go back to your old stuff. They may not be able to payout, but you'll build an audience that expects the best.